Tips and Tricks for Successful Recruiting

By Lauren White, RCS Assistant Editor.

Simplifying ads, reaching out to local trade schools and providing a signing bonus are all tactics used by a Portland, Oregon roofing company to recruit and retain talent.

The roofing industry continues to face a labor shortage.  According to a study done by Arizona State University, Tempe, which was commissioned by the Roofing Alliance, 90% of roofing contractors in the United States faced labor shortages in 2019.  Companies within the industry are using creative methods to recruit and retain talent, and one company in Oregon has found some effective methods.

During a recent National Women in Roofing (NWIR) webinar, I had the privilege to connect with other professionals in the roofing industry, both men and women.  After the initial presentation, the conversation shifted to recruiting talent.  Melissa Hill, the social and digital media marketing manager for Roof Life of Oregon shared their successful effort of adding a signing bonus to their recruiting ad - simple, yet effective.  As she shared the company’s story, I watched as the other participants eagerly took notes.  

Knowing the struggle the roofing industry faces to engage and retain talent, it seemed like Melissa was onto something with the tactic used by Roof Life.  Melissa and I spoke more and she had additional advice to offer people as they continue their recruiting efforts, especially during these trying times.

Melissa has been working in the roofing industry for nine years, all of which she has spent at Roof Life of Oregon.  As a “Jill of all trades,” Melissa is in charge of the digital media marketing for Roof Life, which includes posting to social media, keeping the content up to date and helping with recruiting efforts.

After using CraigsList and Facebook job marketplace, Roof Life has found Facebook to be an effective means to reach potential employees.  The company also provides members of their sales team with fliers to hand out to people they encounter outside of work or to post at cafes and coffee shops they visit during the day.

Recently, Roof Life decided to make some changes to their previous advertisement, and on September 10, 2020, launched their latest ad that has received the most traction.  Melissa explained, “We used to outline what a typical day would look like for new hires, but with this new ad, we took out all the fluff and really simplified it.  It’s our most responsive ad.”  

They also used to include that they specialize in single-family home roofing and maintenance, but decided to eliminate those details because one of the most common remarks Melissa receives is, “I do commercial roofing, not residential.”  While someone might specialize in commercial roofing, he or she has the basic skills and can be trained by Roof Life to become a residential roofer, Melissa explained.  Taking out those details not only shortened the ad, but it also increased the advertisement’s exposure to both residential and commercial contractors.

In addition to simplifying the text, Roof Life added three words that helped set this ad apart from others, “...signing bonus offered.”  No monetary amount is mentioned, but after 90 days of employment, new hires receive a bonus.  This tactic worked, and shortly after the ad launched, a team that was working down the road from Roof Life stopped in on their lunch break to learn more about the job openings.

Even though roofing is an essential business, it has been difficult to fill positions during the coronavirus pandemic.  One of the biggest struggles Melissa has faced is people applying for jobs to maintain their unemployment status with no intention of working at the company.  “We’ve had a lot of no-shows recently,” Melissa said.  People will apply for positions or schedule an interview just to prove that they’re “looking for work” in order to continue collecting unemployment.

While it has been frustrating to have people take advantage of the system, that hasn’t stopped Melissa and Roof Life from finding more creative ways to recruit labor.  Everyday a “Now Hiring” sandwich board is posted outside of the office.  Melissa shared, “We always need workers and you never know who is going to see that and stop in.”

Prior to the pandemic, Melissa personally reached out to career counselors at local high schools to speak with students about careers in the trades.  Unfortunately this plan has been put on hold for now, but the presentations are all ready for when schools resume normal operations.  She has also posted an ad for roofing professionals on the job board of a local community college that has a large trade school attached to it, Portland Community College.  Melissa shared, “Trade schools are a great place to find new, young talent.  Many of the young people who have previously applied to Roof Life are good workers and we’ve hired them.”  Melissa is hopeful that their current ad will yield even more eager, young and hardworking applicants from the trade school.

Melissa’s recommendation for people wanting to improve their recruiting is to read “Winning the War for Talent” by Chris Czarnik, who spoke at the Chicago Roofing Contractors Association Trade Show and Seminars earlier this year.  This short book is filled with great ideas to help recruit, retain and train talent.  Melissa said some of the recruiting ideas Roof Life is currently implementing came from this book.

Using creativity and persistence, Melissa and Roof Life of Oregon have found ways to make their recruiting tactics current and appeal to younger generations.  By simplifying the details of their ad and offering a signing bonus, Roof Life has created their most successful ad, even during a pandemic.

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